Transforming Well-Being Through Intersectionality: Insights from NYU’s “Intersectionality in Action” Event

How can intersectionality reshape our understanding of well-being?

At the recent “Intersectionality in Action: Transforming Well-being in Education & Business” event hosted by NYU SPS, leading researchers explored this question—and their insights could redefine how we teach, work, and live. On October 10th, 2024, the Intersectionality Lab at NYU SPS welcomed two distinguished scholars, Professor Liudvika Leišytė and Junior Professor Daniela Gimenez-Jimenez, for a groundbreaking discussion on the intersection of well-being, education, and business.

Representing the InterHEd initiative, TU Dortmund University, and The Lehigh Nasdaq Center, they shared innovative research contributing to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 3: “Good Health and Well-Being.”

Pictured from Left: Junior Professor Daniela Gimenez-Jimenez, Professor Raúl Sánchez, Director, Intersectionality Lab, Professor Liudvika Leišytė, Faculty Lead, InterHEd Initiative

Their presentations covered tools like relief maps, new methodologies for teaching intersectionality, and strategies for fostering mental health in academic and entrepreneurial settings. Moderated by Professor Raúl Sánchez, the Director of the Intersectionality Lab, below, we summarize their key insights and the transformative projects that pave the way for a more inclusive and empathic future.

InterHEd: A Vision for Intersectional Higher Education

The InterHEd initiative (Intersectionality in Higher Education) is a three-year international project (2023–2026) aiming to create more inclusive Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) by embedding intersectionality into shared teaching and learning practices across disciplines.

The main objectives of the project are:

• Creating and implementing innovative challenge-based methodologies to engage diverse students and faculty.

• Generating interdisciplinary transferable knowledge for mainstreaming intersectionality in higher education.

• Raising awareness among stakeholders about the importance of intersectionality in higher education teaching and learning.

Dr. Liudvika Leišytė, the co-principal Investigator of the project and the project faculty lead at TU Dortmund University, created the InterHEd project, drawing inspiration from her “Diversity and Inclusion Management” course, where classroom discussions revealed how teachers and students experience intersectionality in their daily academic and professional lives, leading her to emphasize co-creation with students as agents of change.

“We are truly lucky to work internationally comparing four country contexts, four different university cultures, as well as different disciplines,” said Professor Liudvika Leišytė.

“This will allow us to provide guidance for faculty development and toolkits for working with students from diverse backgrounds.”

To learn more about InterHEd and project updates, visit InterHEd’s official website.

Relief Maps: A Tool for Understanding Intersectional Dynamics

At the event, Professor Leišytė introduced the concept of relief maps, a methodological tool developed by Rodó de Zárate to visualize intersectionality in spatial, social, and emotional contexts. As explained by Rodó de Zárate in her research, “A relief map of experience is a model for working on geographies of intersectionality.” Relief maps have been demonstrated in recent research to be effective data visualization tools to illustrate how power dynamics and systemic inequalities impact individuals’ experiences in specific environments, such as classrooms and workspaces.

Professor Liudvika Leišytė, Faculty Lead, InterHEd Initiative

Leišytė highlighted that spaces often perceived as neutral, such as schools, can evoke feelings of comfort for some while causing stress for others, emphasizing the need to reconsider how educational environments are designed to support well-being. As a way of presenting data visually, relief maps have enabled the possibility of comprehending intersectionality as something that can be fully experienced in specific spatial contexts. The model has three dimensions –the social (intersecting power structures), the geographical (places), and the psychological (emotions).

Key Insight: Relief maps offer educators a way to identify and create "relief spaces" in classrooms where students feel safe, valued, and empowered to learn.

For more, explore Rodó de Zárate’s research on geographies of intersectionality.

Mental Health Strategies for Entrepreneurs

Junior Professor Daniela Gimenez-Jimenez shared her research data on mental health in entrepreneurial contexts, emphasizing the high levels of uncertainty entrepreneurs face. She highlighted the importance of rethinking success and failure as a “kaleidoscope of opportunities” rather than a binary outcome.

“Understanding this broader range of options can give entrepreneurs a healthier perspective on financial resources and the forms of capital available,” Gimenez-Jimenez noted. “Support systems, whether from family, peers, or mentors, are critical for sustaining mental health in high-pressure environments.”

Takeaway: By teaching future entrepreneurs to prioritize well-being and redefine success, educators can prepare them for resilience in uncertain contexts.

For further reading, see Gimenez-Jimenez et al. (2022), Women Entrepreneurs’ Progress in the Venturing Process (DOI link).

The Role of Intersectionality in Promoting Well-Being

Applying an intersectional lens is key to understanding how overlapping identities influence well-being. For example, the challenges faced by a migrant woman entrepreneur differ significantly from those of a native woman entrepreneur, due to intersecting cultural, economic, and gendered barriers.

“In our work, we’ve observed how cultural norms continue to disadvantage certain groups while benefiting a select few,” said Gimenez-Jimenez. “A multilevel approach is essential to examine well-being across different contexts—whether within universities or across industries worldwide – providing deeper insights into the complexities of well-being.”

Junior Professor Daniela Gimenez-Jimenez

According to Pietro Bonfante, Graduate Researcher and Project Developer at the NYU Intersectionality Lab, “Intersectionality not only deepens our understanding of mental health but also amplifies the voices of marginalized communities in today’s society – with a clear role in fostering awareness and creating more inclusive and supportive spaces for all.”

Looking Ahead: As faculty are often self-directed, sharing an entrepreneurial mindset as well, continued research in entrepreneurial contexts and the InterHEd initiative will help guide faculty development, curriculum design, and organizational change, offering practical tools to address systemic inequities and foster inclusion.

Conclusion: Creating Inclusive Spaces for All:

The “Intersectionality in Action” event highlighted the transformative potential of applying intersectionality to education and business. Through projects like InterHEd, tools like relief maps, and strategies for mental health across academic and workspaces, we can create environments that amplify diverse voices and prioritize well-being.

"Intersectional identities gain new meanings when they are linked to our collaborative spaces," said Professor Raúl Sánchez, Director of the Intersectionality Lab. “Intersectionality is about more than welcoming all of us into existing structures – we must also transform those spaces to create a better global society.”

As we continue integrating intersectionality into our work, we expand critical steps toward building more inclusive classrooms, workplaces, and communities—where everyone can thrive.

References

• Crenshaw, K. W. (1989). Demarginalizing the Intersection of Race and Sex: A Black Feminist Critique of Antidiscrimination Doctrine, Feminist Theory, and Antiracist Politics. The University of Chicago Legal Forum, 139–167.
  

• Leišytė, L., Deem, R., & Tzanakou, C. (Eds.). (2021). Inclusive universities in a globalized world [Thematic issue]. Social Inclusion, 9(3). https://www.cogitatiopress.com/socialinclusion/issue/view/231
  

• Gimenez-Jimenez, D., & Harc, M. (2024). Students’ sustainable entrepreneurship intentions: The role of sustainable values and culture. The Journal of Entrepreneurship, 33(1), 118–154.
  

• Gimenez-Jimenez, D., Edelman, L. F., Dawson, A., & Calabró, A. (2022). Women entrepreneurs’ progress in the venturing process: The impact of risk aversion and culture. Small Business Economics, 58(4), 1091–1111. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11187-020-00435-8
  

• Rodó de Zárate, M. (2014). Relational geographies of intersectionality. Gender, Place & Culture, 21(8), 925–944.
  

• Iakovleva, T., Kolvereid, L., Stephan, U., Nabi, G., & Liñán, F. (2011). Entrepreneurial intentions in developing and developed countries. Education & Training, 53(5), 353–370. https://doi.org/10.1108/00400911111147686
  

• Powell, G. N., & Eddleston, K. A. (2013). Linking family-to-business enrichment and support to entrepreneurial success: do female and male entrepreneurs experience different outcomes? Journal of Business Venturing, 28(2), 261-280.
  

• Wagenschwanz, A., & Gimenez-Jimenez, D. (2020). From Emancipation to Social Change. Stanford Social Innovation Review. https://doi.org/10.48558/6WQC-9P35

For updates on InterHEd and to sign up for the newsletter, visit InterHEd’s official website. Or follow InterHEd on LinkedIn.